Sir, - If Mr Stuart cannot either be induced or persuaded to do the decent thing and resign - for in their collective wisdom the members of Aosdana seated in caucus in Dublin Castle were unwilling or too timid or embarrassed to vote him out - may I propose an alternative? Namely, that in future the tSaoi be awarded posthumously.
Only after an impartial examination of a candidate's lifetime achievement and worthiness (as in the stages of beatification required for RC sainthood) will he or she be declared fit and sound for instant tSaoihood among the bardic peers. Then, and only then, will the good guys (or goys) and good girls get in, and all will be well.
My feeling is that all is not well at present. I have voted twice against this peculiar nomination to no avail; for it must appear evident to all that it is patently absurd to vote in Beckett and then vote in Stuart as if their lifetime's achievements, not to speak or their politics, were in any way comparable.
In view of the strong-arm tactics used by canvassers and defenders of their man, may I suggest that at future caucus gatherings they greet each other with a slightly modified Nazi salute - the right arm held stiffly at the vertical port position at shoulder height - while crying out "Hail Stuart!" or "Hail Francis!" Then the rest of us will know where we stand. - Yours, etc., Aidan Higgins, (Member of Aosdana),
Kinsale,
Co Cork.